How should I practice Minimum Server Connection Costs?

Start by reading the full statement, solve the visible examples, then compare the pattern against related Microsoft online assessment problems in FastPrep.

Is Minimum Server Connection Costs associated with Microsoft?

FastPrep tags this as a Microsoft online assessment coding practice problem when the problem catalog has that company and stage context.

Minimum Server Connection Costs

Microsoft● MediumFULLTIMEOA

Learn

Problem statement

There are n servers, numbered from 0 to n - 1. Server i has capacity capacity[i], and all capacities are distinct.

The closest server to i is another server with the smallest absolute capacity difference. Connecting from i to its closest server costs 1. Connecting from i to any other server j costs abs(capacity[i] - capacity[j]). The cost is directional: the closest-server relationship need not be mutual.

For each query q, find the minimum total cost to travel from server fromServer[q] to server toServer[q]. You may connect directly or route through any sequence of intermediate servers. Return the minimum costs in query order.

For this exercise, assume that a tie for closest capacity is resolved by choosing the smaller capacity. Server IDs always refer to their original positions in capacity, even if the capacities are not sorted. Connecting a server to itself requires no movement and costs 0.

Function

getMinCost(capacity: int[], fromServer: int[], toServer: int[]) → int[]

Examples

Example 1

capacity = [2,7,10]fromServer = [0,1,2]toServer = [2,2,1]return = [2,1,1]

The path 0 -> 1 -> 2 uses two closest-server connections and costs 1 + 1 = 2, less than the direct cost 8. Servers 1 and 2 are each other's closest servers, so the other two queries each cost 1.

Example 2

capacity = [10,2,7]fromServer = [1,0,2]toServer = [0,1,2]return = [2,6,0]

In original server IDs, 1 -> 2 -> 0 costs 2. In reverse, 0 -> 2 costs 1 but 2 -> 1 costs 5, totaling 6. The last query starts and ends at server 2.

Example 3

capacity = [1,3,5]fromServer = [0,2]toServer = [2,0]return = [3,2]

Server 1 is equally close to the other two servers and chooses the smaller capacity, server 0. Traveling right costs 1 + 2 = 3; traveling left costs 1 + 1 = 2.

Constraints

For this exercise, assume 2 <= capacity.length <= 10^5.
For this exercise, assume 1 <= capacity[i] <= 10^9, and capacities are distinct.
For this exercise, assume 1 <= fromServer.length = toServer.length <= 10^5.
Every server ID in a query is between 0 and capacity.length - 1.